


FFVII Folk Tales: Naneh the Traveller

by ixieko



Series: FFVII Folk Tales [12]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Folklore, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 09:57:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5623237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ixieko/pseuds/ixieko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A tale about the famous traveller Naneh who crossed all the world and saw a lot of wonderful things - including a mysterious crystal cave...</p>
            </blockquote>





	FFVII Folk Tales: Naneh the Traveller

Long, long ago, when Churindari was still green, a boy named Naneh lived in tundra that stretched from the shores of Surinda to the Northern mountains. In summer his tribe travelled the tundra to the far north, and in winter returned back to south, where weather was warmer. The boy grew strong and agile, and many of the girls liked him, but the only one he liked was chieftain's youngest daughter Atachi, who didn't pay him much attention.

When Naneh turned fifteen and the time came for him to take his first wife, he came to Atachi and asked her, "Be my wife."  
But she looked with disdain and said, "You are poor and weak. Become the strongest or the wealthiest man of our tribe, and then, maybe, I will marry you."  
"I will," Naneh said. "You only wait, and you will see." But the girl only laughed at him.  
The boy went and began to train, and so strong was his determination that soon he became the second strongest of all men in the tribe, and only the chieftain himself was still stronger. Many times Naneh tried to beat the chieftain, but he always failed. Finally, his father told him, "My son, your efforts are in vain. No man can defeat the chieftain, because his family owns the secret of making potions that give incredible strength. Despite all your training, you will always be weaker than him."  
And his mother said, "There is a lot of good girls around, son. Forget about chieftain's daughter, we will find you another wife."  
"I will never give up," Naneh said in answer, "I will go and find means to became stronger!"

And so he took his spear Navkan and went to the villages that stood on the southern sea shore, and all the way he talked to people and asked if they knew something about potions that gave strength.  
In one of the villages he met an old shaman who told him, "Far, far away, in the middle of the southern continent, a giant mountain stands. Inside it an enchanted spring flows. They say that people who drink that water become stronger than any man and gain the ability to turn into powerful beasts."  
"This is what I need," The boy thought.  
He found fishermen who were getting ready to sail across the sea to the southern continent and asked them to take him there, and then he went to the far south, through mountains, and forests, and deserts.

Long was his way, and hard, but in the end he arrived to the giant mountain. Its top was hidden by clouds, and its base stretched far and wide, and from its sides two great rivers were emerging. Naneh went around the mountain in search for a road, or a pathway, or even an animal trail that would lead him to the hidden spring. For weeks he searched in vain, until his sharp eyes found a small path that was hidden so good that he would overlook it if he was not so good a hunter. Following it he climbed the mountain and found a narrow tunnel that led deep into it. Quietly and cautiously he made his way through the dark passage and went out, and saw that the mountain was not really a single mountain, it was a mountain chain surrounding a small lake. Naneh looked around and saw that on the opposite side of the lake there was a cave entrance. "The spring must be there," He thought and began to climb down the path, but as far as he reached halfway down, he was stopped by a huge monster that looked half-human, half-behemoth.  
"Stop here, stranger," It roared. "Who are you and what are you doing on this sacred ground?"  
"My name is Naneh, I'm a hunter from the tribe that lives far to the north," The boy answered. "I'm searching for the water that gives people strength."  
The creature sniffed at him and roared, "You speak truth. Come with me." And it turned away and went on another narrow trail and into another cave. There, a whole village was carved from stone: rooms, and passages, and a big hall with warm fire in the middle. Only a handful of people lived there, along with a few beasts; Naneh's guide, the beast who called himself Somama, said that they were the keepers of the sacred cave.  
"Priest!" Called the beast, when they approached the fire. "I brought a pilgrim."  
The priest came, an old man with white hair and wrinkled skin and eyes yellow as those of an owl. "What is your story?" He asked, and Naneh told him about his search for strength.  
The priest sighed and said, "We cannot give you what you seek, boy."  
"But why?!" Naneh exclaimed. "Are you too greedy to spare even a mouthful of your enchanted water? I don't ask for more!"  
"You don't understand what you are asking for, boy." The priest said. "Rest here for the night, and in the morning Somama will show you the way back."

The night fell, but Naneh could not sleep. After all his long travel, he did not want to return empty-handed. And so he waited until all was quiet, and stealthily went out of his room. Everything seemed peaceful, and no one stopped the boy when he went down the narrow path around the small lake and into the cave.  
At the cave entrance he stopped, stunned for a moment, for the cave was filled with crystals so large and beautiful that Naneh's breath hitched.  
"Ah, here you are, boy." Said the priest, who waited there, because he knew that Naneh wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and will come to the spring at night. "Let me show you around and tell you about this place."  
"Long, long ago," He began, "when the land was only just created, Sun's children used to descend to the ground. Oli, the oldest, helped the first humans and taught them, but Kuchida, the second, viewed the land only as his playground and all living creatures as his toys."  
"I know the legends," Naneh interrupted impatiently. "But how are they related to this place?"  
"Patience, my friend," The priest said. "This story is long, but it is necessary for you to hear it all."  
"While people lived and multiplied under Oli's care, Kuchida played with animals, and plants, and the land itself. His cruel games brought to life the first monsters, and the land itself began to deteriorate slowly. Seeing that, Oli decided to move humans, alongside with those animals and plants that were still untainted by Kuchida, to another place. Long and hard was his work, many years it took, but in the end, he built the new land that was big enough to house all of them. To move all living things there, he created a great bird Amargu (The Last One - M.) to gather all of them."  
"The bird flew over mountain and river, forest and desert, and took humans, animals and plants in his beak and swallowed them. In his stomach they sat, waiting for their fate. When he gathered all living creatures except for those changed with Kuchida's unholy witchcraft, he left the dying land and departed for the new island."  
"This is the place where he landed and turned into crystal," The priest said, gesturing around. "This cave was the place where the humans went out of his belly. And this is where it will awaken again when Oli will finish rebuilding the land that was corrupted by Kuchida and the time will come to take us all back there. We guard this place, because a careless stranger can wake Amargu ahead of time, before the land will be ready for us."  
"But, what about the spring and the water that gives strength?" Asked Naneh, and the priest said, "For us to be able to guard Amargu in his sleep, Oli provided us with this spring. We take the water and from it we make a drink that gives great powers and the ability to turn into powerful beasts, but, as it always is, power doesn't come with no price. The cost for our chosen guardians is their humanity, for they retain only a part of their consciousness and their memories, and they have to stay near the spring. If they will go too far, they will lose their mind completely."  
Naneh looked at the crystals and the spring, disappointed that his long travel was, in the end, pointless.  
"We cannot give you what you seek here," The priest said. "But do not despair, because there is no such thing as insurmountable power. All human strength is beatable. Go to the Western continent where live people who know their way with weapons, they will teach you."

And so Naneh left the Crystal Cave and its guardians and went to the far west, to the island we now know as Wutai. There he found a master who agreed to teach him and began his training. In time he became one of the best fighters among all their people. After he learned all he could from people of Wutai, he went to the southern islands, and then to the eastern continent and travelled for years, learning from all the tribes he met their ways of combat.

Ten long years passed since Naneh left his tribe. In that time, hunting for monsters and guarding wealthy lords, he became rich and famous, and many fine women and men offered him their love, but, keeping in mind his promise to Atachi, not even once he agreed.  
Finally, ten winters after his departure, Naneh returned. All the tribe went out of their yurtas to look at him, young and strong, in shining armor. He arrived in chocobo-driven carriage full with gold, and precious jewels, and expensive fabrics, and other gifts for the girl he loved. He looked around and saw her standing beside the carriage with her husband and several small children.  
"You already married?" He asked.  
"I did," She said, looking into the carriage and seeing all the pretty things hidden there. "But if you want me, I will leave this man and drown his offsprings in the river like newborn kittens. I don't need them now that you returned with all those precious gifts!"  
Naneh looked into her eyes, but saw only greed in them. He spat at her feet and said, "I changed my mind. Stay where you were."  
And so, he left his tribe again and went back to his travels. The carriage with gifts he gave to his parents, and they divided it between all poor people of the tribe.

Naneh built himself a ship and travelled all oceans and continents. He was one of the few bearers of the sacred Scales of Aen the Great Water Dragon, and the ocean was kind to him, its currents and winds were helping him in his travels.  
No one knows where and how his path ended, no one ever found his ship's remains or his Scale, but the sailors say that even now his ship appears from time to time, guiding others through dangerous waters. They say that Naneh himself is standing on the ship's deck, with his spear Navkan in his left hand and a bright lamp in his right hand, holding it high to show the way.

_(From “The tales of North”, Evan Marius, 1932)_

* * *

"The bird that saves all living things by swallowing them. Whoever created these legends had a weird sense of humour."  
"This bit corresponds with certain Cetra tablets I stumbled upon recently, so the legends may, after all, be based off real events."  
"To think that it really happened... That our world may be not ours originally, but only a temporary place where we all wait while a better world is being built... How do you think, Grim, can this new world be the Cetra's Promised Land?"  
"Probably. Or, this may be a misinterpretation of Cetra's legends by a poor-educated tribesman."  
"Well, I have a theory..."  
"Huh, is there even a time when you _don't_ have one, Gast. Wait until I finish this beer, and I'll have a theory or two too."  
"Or, more likely, you'll fall under the table."  
"I'm not that drunk!... Oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to drop the mug."  
"Well, I need new pants now."


End file.
